Italy and Iraq Prepare for Crucial World Cup Playoffs

Italy will initially host Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifying playoff in March, needing a victory to advance to its first tournament following consecutive failures at this stage.

On Thursday, FIFA conducted the playoff draw, leading to a matchup between four-time champions Italy and Northern Ireland on March 26. The winner will then face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina five days later, with a place in the inaugural 48-team finals tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico at stake.

Italy has not participated in a World Cup since 2014 and found itself in the playoffs after finishing as runners-up in a qualifying group dominated by Norway this month.

In other European playoff brackets, Ukraine will host Sweden, with the winner going on to face either Poland or Albania at home.

Kosovo, as Europe’s newest football nation, embarks on its quest for a first-ever World Cup appearance, beginning with an away match against Slovakia, followed by a home fixture against either Turkey or Romania.

Ireland’s remarkable back-to-back victories over Portugal and Hungary have earned them a playoff semifinal against the Czech Republic, with the winner set to host Denmark or North Macedonia.

FIFA also drew the six-nation intercontinental playoffs, which do not involve European teams. Iraq, seeded in the draw, must defeat Bolivia or Suriname in a single-game playoff next March to qualify.

In another intercontinental playoff bracket, Congo, also seeded, will compete against the winner of a one-game semifinal between New Caledonia and Jamaica.

The six intercontinental playoff matches will take place in Mexico from March 23-31, hosted in stadiums in Guadalajara and Monterrey, which will also be venues for four World Cup matches in June.

A total of six teams will emerge from the March playoffs to complete the 48-nation lineup, joining the 42 teams confirmed this week as qualifying groups and playoff matches concluded across four continents.

The World Cup draw is scheduled for December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where the six unconfirmed playoff teams will be drawn as placeholders from the lowest-ranked teams in the seeded draw.

Iraq secured its place in the global playoffs with a penalty scored in the 17th minute of stoppage time against the United Arab Emirates, resulting in a 2-1 victory in Basra and a 3-2 win over two legs in the Asian playoffs. Iraq’s only World Cup appearance was in 1986, while coach Graham Arnold previously led Australia in the 2022 tournament in Qatar, reaching the round of 16.

New Caledonia ranks as the lowest-seeded team in the playoffs, positioned at No. 149 among FIFA’s 211 member nations. They advanced to the playoffs by defeating Tahiti 3-0 in March, before losing in the Oceania qualifying final against New Zealand. Coach Johann Sidaner’s team has played just one match since, winning against Gibraltar in a friendly last month.